The Criminal Network - 1 Year Anniversary
Back in August 2013 I bought Payday 2 on Steam after being told about it by a friend. From the minute I started playing it I was hooked! Over the next few weeks I played everyday all day trying to beat the system & stealthing heists. This for me is a great game because you can play it in a number of ways that make it fun & bloody hard work to complete while also getting the maximum amount of loot from the heist. Don't get me wrong I enjoy shooting the hell out of shit but the stealth approach for me has always been a favorite. After meeting new players & watching other people stream I decided to setup The Criminal Network. Our goal was simple, play the game, have fun & make people laugh in the process. Myself, Pat, Kwote & others sat for hours trying to come up with the name & in the end we all agreed & The Criminal Network was born. With only 4 members we embarked on a mission, a mission to show people that this game is not only good but it also brings people together. We have members in many countries around the world now & it's amazing to see such a diverse group of people within the group. We have grown in numbers now with 52 Members along with over 400 members in the Friends Of [ TCN ] group. [ FTCN ] was setup so we could bring in the younger players who are new to the game & want to learn from those with many hundreds of hours of experience in the game. However the idea behind the group is a lot deeper than that. The group is a stepping stone that we use to bring new people into the main group. We have several former [ FTCN ] member who are now in the main group & play a major part in our daily streaming. Players you will know like DarkestRose, Hope_Rising, Lucian, Kraken, LK, & lots more all joined via [ FTCN ] so it's a good place to start if you are looking to join. So what have we achieved in our first year? From my perspective we have created a very special place where we enjoy our games & enjoy the banter between each other. Sometimes things go wrong & people clash but that's normal in a community with so many diverse & different cultures & beliefs. We all like to laugh that's for sure & we do our very best to enjoy every game, even when they go wrong or I fall off a roof in front of a guard or get handcuffed in the bathroom on Day 1 of Framing Frame. We achieved a very specail goal as well, gaining Overkill Software's Official Seal Of Approval was for me the best moment in my entire gaming history. I am so grateful of the massive support they give us in return for just playing the game & having fun. Being chosen as one of the Payday 2 Poetry Jam Competition was just amazing. We all knew that Kwote was good & I think deep down we knew we was in with a chance after hearing the track for the first time. A few months down the road & Kwote himself got to work with Simon Viklund to create a new track that is in the game called, Criminals Ambition which is another brilliant track. Today we see our stream at the top of the leaderboards which makes me very proud of every single member, you have all gone beyond my expectations & have made us what we are today. You have built this together with others who feel the same way, we all love gaming, we all love laughing & I guess that's why we keep doing it. To celebrate our 1 year stream we decided to do a charity event. We have done this in the past with great success so we are really looking forward to the event which takes place 27th September 12:00pm GMT on our stream page. We are raising money for World Child Cancer which is an amazing organisation helping children with cancer get treatment. On a personal note I just want to say Thank you to every single one you for the support you have given since joining us. It means so much to me that you all take the time to join in & have a laugh. You guys & girls have helped me & many others in ways that you can't imagine so I am truly grateful for that. I hope we continue to grow & expand our streaming adventures in the future. You guys & girls are The Criminal Network I just helped put it all together in some way I guess & try to hold it together. So lets have a great weekend & hit this target for these poor children. Onwards & Upwards as they say. Keep Heisting & Take Everything!! I love you all. Andy AKA, StratManiac, old git, shit head, fuck face and more :0)